(163639) Tomnash Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 October 2002 by Sloan Digital Sky Survey at Apache Point.
Thomas Nash (b. 1943) is an American physicist and a contributor to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, best known for leading development of the first parallel “clusters” of computers to enable analysis of large physics and astronomy data sets, and subsequently in commercial systems.Naming citation (20120406/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tomnash is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tomnash is 3.25 au from the Sun and 4.05 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 163639 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 UN51 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.92 km (#9,059 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0420 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.28 |
| Orbital period | 5.37 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.07 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.84 – 3.29 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0730 |
| Inclination | 15.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.89 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Thomas
- (4008) Corbin
- (4739) Tomahrens
- (4830) Thomascooley
- (4897) Tomhamilton
- (5548) Thosharriot
- (6019) Telford
- (6361) Koppel
- (8236) Gainsborough
- (8382) Mann
- (8793) Thomasmuller
- (9460) McGlynn
- (9536) Statler
All asteroids named after someone called Thomas